Public Notices & Information

Council Agenda

Springhill at a Glance â€“ Then and Now

Nestled in the Cobequid Mountain Range in northwestern Nova Scotia, Springhill is a community rich in pride and tradition. Once renowned for its valuable coal resources, Springhill now prides itself on both itsâ€™ mining legacy and its vision of the future. When incorporated as a Town in 1889, coal mining had already been a community mainstay for over 20 years. Starting as a fuel source for local farmers prior to 1870, by 1889, coal was being mined by the Cumberland Railway and Coal Company from four separate coal seams, expanding to seven seams by the early 1900â€™s. By 1958, when large scale coal mining ended in Springhill as a result of the disasterous Big Bump that claimed the lives of 75 miners and was made famous by the miraculous recovery of two groups of miners trapped underground for days, Springhill boasted the biggest and deepest coal mining operations in North America.

The demise in coal mining did not result in the end of Springhill as a vibrant and resourceful community. Ground water that filled the abandoned coal mines, and heated by the earths powers, has provided Springhill with an invaluable and vertually unlimited geothermal energy resource, that is currently utilized by numerous Springhill businesses and being promoted for others. Springhill continues to be the home of numerous businesses and manufacturing facilities and is working hard to attract more. The remaining near surface coal reserves now offer the potential for marketable coal seam methane production and also remain as a valuable energy resource.

Springhill is blessed with a modern hospital and other related and expanding health care facilities, a new and vibrant Community Centre and Arena, a Nova Scotia Community College Campus, a Miners Museum where one can tour an underground coal mine slope and the Anne Murray Centre, which stands as a tribute to the internationally known singer Anne Murray who was born and raised here in Springhill.

Explore our website and let us show you all that Springhill has to offer â€“ now and for the future.

Dr. Carson and Marion Murray Community Centre

Anne Murray Centre

While visiting Springhill be sure to take in the Anne Murray Centre. Now, you can see firsthand the incomparable mix of awards, photographs, memorabilia and audio-visual highlights of Anne Murray's life and career in a series of award winning, three-dimensional displays.